Virgin Atlantic’s Mumbai-Heathrow flight to make available 26 tonnes of cargo capacity

May 22, 2019: With an aim to win a strong share of a buoyant cargo market, Virgin Atlantic will relaunch its flight between London Heathrow and Mumbai starting October 27. The Mumbai flight will provide up to 26 tonnes of cargo capacity.

The flight, to be operated on Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 787-9 aircraft, will also provide seamless connections via Heathrow between India and the US. The additional route will complement the airline's long-established London-Delhi route.

Dominic Kennedy, managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: "We have given our cargo customers direct access to the vibrant cargo market in India for 19 years and, in 2018, our cargo revenues ex India rose 10 percent as support grew for our daily Delhi flights. The Mumbai market is equally buoyant. In the last four years, the overall market from Mumbai to the UK and US has increased by more than 50 percent in revenue terms, alongside increases of 46 percent to India from both countries. When we resume Mumbai operations in October, we aim to win a strong share of this growing market, supported by our fast and easy connections over London to and from major cities across US and our enhanced capabilities for handling pharmaceuticals, one of the main types of shipments ex Mumbai. More capacity is great news for our import and export customers."

The Mumbai-Heathrow flight will mark Virgin Atlantic's 27th daily service from London Heathrow. The airline will also commence flights to Tel Aviv, Israel from September this year. it will also make its first venture into South America with flights to So Paulo, Brazil, starting 2020.